


Healthy Competition

by Zither



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Humour, Perfectionism, Salt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-15 08:29:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11802282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zither/pseuds/Zither
Summary: Some Guardians take the Crucible more seriously than others.Much, much more seriously.





	Healthy Competition

“What...?“ Pahanin began. Before he could finish, Wei’s hand descended on his shoulder. The air in front of them shimmered, a translucent wall of heat driving them back.

Behind the curtain stood Eriana, glaring up at the wall above her. Pahanin’s eyes chased hers, and he winced in sudden understanding. Wei gave his upper arm a squeeze, firm but gentle - perhaps a little heavier on the firm part than she’d intended, because he let out a yelp and jabbed his free elbow into her ribs. Even when he set every molecule in the hallway a-shiver by blinking out of arm’s reach, Eriana did not turn around. Her palms were outstretched, fingers spread wide in the manner that heralded an explosion.

It fizzled. When the words came, they were small and miserable: “She doesn’t even dance.”

Both Wei and Pahanin made sympathetic noises, though the latter’s could have been mistaken for a snort. The scoreboards hung there above them, passing silent, electronic judgement. Wei had known what they would say as soon as she spotted Eriana at the other end of the hall. _Doubles – Triples – Sixes_ , read the left-hand one - she allowed herself only a brief grin at the doubles results, not wishing to take away from Eriana’s pain - and then _Hunters – Titans - Warlocks_ on the right. _WEI Ning_ sat where it had been for several seasons running, comfortably ensconced at the top of the Titan lists with a respectable lead on the runner-up. _Eriana-3_ did not. It winked out from a slot diagonally below Wei’s own, rendered in much smaller lettering than the name that had usurped its former place: _Ikora REY_.

“Look!” Pahanin said, with false cheer. He paid no attention to Wei’s throat-slitting gesture. “You’ve increased your point score from last year.”

Eriana did not seem to hear. As if there had been no pause, she went on. “You never see her gloating on the killcam. No waving, no cheering, not even a little crouch when she reloads. She’ll just take you down and walk away, as if… as if you’re nothing, like it’s nothing to her.”

“You’re anything but nothing,” Wei said, cutting across Pahanin’s too-reasonable, “Well, she does get quite a lot of kills.” It was past time for an intervention. She took a step forward, and the curtain parted around her. This close, Eriana’s fire was a hum in her blood, shading through scales into a song she couldn’t identify - but her own Light reservoir could, and it cried out in joyous response. Clenching her fists, she corralled the lightning. Somewhere on the border of her awareness, she heard Pahanin remove himself to minimum safe distance.

The air temperature dropped by several degrees as Eriana’s Light collapsed in on itself. She did not so much step backward as slump into Wei’s arms. Flickers of electric heat still played over their bodies, making metal and skin snap with static. If the usual crowd of board-watching hopefuls hadn’t already been scared off by Eriana’s solo display, Wei thought, they’d be running in the opposite direction now. Her Ghost emerged, drawn out of hibernation by the current running through them, and flew a strange zigzag pattern around their heads. It was the same one that always made Eriana laugh. When it failed to get a response, Ghost crooned a long, low note and drifted down to land like a snowflake in the crook of Eriana’s neck. With a level of sullenness that spoke to the number of times she had had to revive her own charge in the face of Ikora Rey’s fire, she said, “She’s not that good.”

This time, Pahanin’s snort was both unmistakable and warranted. Ignoring him, Wei seized the opportunity that had been handed to her and hung on for dear life. “Exactly! Where’s the skill in what she does? Blinking up in people’s faces and letting fly before they can raise a fist in response - any one of us could do that, with the right gifts and the right gun.”

“Of course,” Pahanin murmured, at a pitch that was meant to carry. “As all those drawn to the blade or nova know, calculating the trajectory of a short-range teleport straight into enemy territory and then staying alive long enough to make it count takes no skill whatsoever. Not to mention designing and building your own custom weapon to work alongside that strategy -“

At that, Eriana stirred. “If you love Rey’s stupid shotgun so much,” she said, voice fuzzing out around the edges, “why don’t you have a City-style marriage to it?”

“I would,” Pahanin replied, matching her tone, “but I hear she doesn’t like to share.” He shook his head, peeling himself off the wall. “Well, I’d better go. Azzir’ll have my cloak if I’m late to street patrol again. See you two later, once you’ve had some time to grieve?” And he disappeared around the corner, leaving no sound of footsteps behind him.

 _He doesn’t understand_ , Wei almost said - but Eriana knew that. Pahanin’s name had never made it onto the Hunter leaderboard. It wasn’t an issue of skill holding him back; he pulled his own weight well enough when he ran threes with them. She’d asked him more than once why he took the Crucible so lightly, and each time, he’d shrugged and said, “Low stakes”. That lack of investment was what enabled him to dismiss Eriana now, though he would have comforted her without hesitation after a crushing loss in the field. He’d never been able to grasp why some of them found simulated failure just as devastating.

Laughter floated round the bend. A moment later, two newborns followed it. From the excited tone of their chatter, Wei thought they might harbour genuine hope of seeing their own names up there on the board. She delayed the moment of heartbreak with a ferocious glare, which sent them scuttling back the way they’d come.

“What do you think?” she said, arms tightening around Eriana. “Future doubles stars?” She shot an involuntary glance at the results table. Both of them ought to be able to take pride in that, if nothing else; they’d outscored the next pair by several hundred points. Still, she doubted Eriana would see it that way.

Ever on the same wavelength, Eriana followed her gaze. “They’ll just say you carried me.”

That, Wei decided, took them across the indefinable boundary between _all right, I’ll indulge your mood_ and _that’s more than enough_. “What, like this?” Before Eriana could so much as yelp in outrage, Wei spun her around and hoisted her up over one shoulder. It was a manoeuvre she would never have been able to pull off under less distracting circumstances. As it was, their relative heights made it awkward enough. Gangly limbs kicked and flailed as she took a step forward.

“Put me down,” Eriana growled, right into Wei's ear. The shudder that provoked did not seem to mollify her.

“But I’ve got to carry you.” Annoyance wasn’t the number one emotion Wei sought to provoke in Eriana, but it beat despair by a good margin. “Isn’t that what you just said? Or did I get it wrong?”

“Go to hell,” Eriana said, but her voice was less distorted than before. She gave Wei a gentle swat between the shoulder blades. “Fine, fine. I’ll stop moping and learn to love second place. Just give me back my floor.”

With a small flourish, Wei set her down on the tiles. Despite her words, there was still a noticeable slump to Eriana’s posture when she straightened up. Seeing that made Wei’s stomach twist a little.

“Look,” she tried, “you can’t feel bad about losing to Ikora Rey. It’s like punching a supernova in the face. Even I can admit I’m not going to come off best.”

“I don’t think supernovae have very punchable faces,” said Eriana, “and didn’t you just try to convince me she wasn’t that good?”

“We were lying to make you feel better,” Ghost chirped, intersecting with Wei’s “You’d be surprised.”

“Anyway,” she went on, “my point is that no one will think less of you for coming in behind a Guardian-shaped force of nature.” She paused to search for more sensitive phrasing, then gave up. “You’re not worried I might drop you as a teammate? Or just… drop you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Eriana said, but her shoulders sagged a little. They’d have to discuss that, Wei decided, next time one of those rare moments where both of them felt up to having a deep and sincere talk about feelings rolled around. For now, she temporised.

“I wouldn’t care if you were at the bottom of the lists.” Eriana started at that, and brilliant turquoise streaked her face from forehead to throat. “I mean, I’d wonder if some evil force had stolen your body and drained your Light, but you’d still be my - my partner, my companion in arms. 3 and Wei, remember? We agreed.” They stared at each other. A deep and sincere talk hove into view over the horizon, and Wei gave in to babbling. “Anyway, I might be in your position before too long. Goldsmith’s gaining on me, see the gap there…”

“No, he’s not,” Eriana said, and flicked the tip of Wei’s nose. “Don’t you dare patronise me, Wei Ning.”

“Okay,” Wei said, smiling. She traced a starburst pattern of blue with her fingertip. “I won’t, as long as you don’t doubt me.”

The ambient Light shifted in quality, lavender splotches creeping in around the edges of their blue-and-gold mosaic. One of the optimistic newborns from earlier was closing in on them. A helmet peeped around the corner, its opaque visor outlined in garish orange. Questionable fashion choices and an insistence on wearing full combat gear at all times; the markers of many a young champion and many an eccentric.

“Do you mind if we - ?“ Lime-green fingers fluttered in the direction of the board. “My double and I -“ As they shifted from foot to foot, a faint smell of ozone began to permeate the air around them. Wei had no trouble imagining what horrors lay under the armour; at this point, the undersuit had to be crusted with sweat and Light residue. They’d give it up and change into clean civvies soon, if their peers didn’t strip the plating and throw them in the shower first.

She shot Eriana a questioning look. Eriana laid a hand on her shoulder, turned to the newborn, and said, “Go ahead.” For a moment, the grooves below her eyes shone sky-blue. “Little bit of advice, though? Don’t take the results too seriously. It's not good for you.”

And they walked off together, Wei biting back a grin while Eriana fought to smother her own. They were several corridors away when the cries of disappointment started up behind them.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick fic to (fingers crossed...) mark the end of my impromptu hiatus! Hope you enjoyed.


End file.
